Squatting barefoot

[Wellhairedbeast]

All my lifts are done barefoot as i have a home gym. Its more natural and healthy for the feet, as well as being the best alternative if you don't have the right shoes. Are feet actually get slowly damaged with footwear, but unfortunately with the state of our streets and also the workplace we have no choice in that matter.

If you have a home gym i would recommend you try it, commercial gyms will most likely frown upon it however.

The Greeks to train completely naked, i have tried this when it was still warm and it feel liberating but fortunately it wasn't deadlift day as that could be comfortable.

[Leot]

Squatting with no shirt also marks up your back, I have some rough patches from this, although they heal after a little rest.

[wapoti]

Very cool. I will definitely give it a try, I'm actually on a small deload and I can always go barefoot for the warm-up. I lift in the gym at work so barefoot is not an issue as it's unstaffed after 5PM.

[Sam277]

Never squat with socks or shoes, just feels horrible, and i end up with smelly feet.

If i'm not working out with mates i'll workout topless too.

Much nicer, keeps you cool too.

[Soofy]

I squat with converses, feels fine. I'd feel awkward doing lifts barefoot at my university gym.

[langknow]

I just started 5x5, and it just came to me naturally that I should be doing squats with only socks on, because the nike running shoes I have on, are sloped downwards, which puts more weight on the toes, which is bad for form.

Do you think socks are safe though when the weight gets really heavy ?

[rere]

I realize there's a Shoes thread where this is commented on, but I just had to share my experience.

I started Stronglifts squatting with an empty bar and I'm now approaching 1x bodyweight squat. I've been lifting using some Reebok cross trainers I had which were comfortable for my wide feet and felt stable.

After watching the Louie Simmons presentation Mehdi linked to a while back, I started doing box squats to guarantee I break parallel every time. Huge help there.

As the weights got heavier on squats, though, my form starting going downhill bad; I started having problems with forward lean, doing a good morning out of the hole, etc. I had read about the right shoes, but I figured mine weren't the gel filled ones, felt like they had plenty of support, etc.

OK, backed the weight off 15 lbs, work my way back up, concentrating on form, some improvement, but I was FIGHTING to keep from going forward on my toes. I was doing it all too...curling the toes, squeezing the glutes, making sure the bar was back far enough, and still I'm struggling. I was working through the Squat RX videos, doing squat stretches, extra warmup sets, etc, etc.

My squat gains slowed down because it just felt like the weight was smashing me into the ground.

Started reading more on the forums and ran across the shoes thread and a couple others, and I thought, "OK, I'll try it barefoot, I have a home gym."

Shoes off tonight, squatted a personal best for 5X5, and it was EASY. No fighting for balance, no leaning problems. I could feel the muscle activation much more in the posterior chain, and I was getting much more feedback from feet and ankles about the entire motion of the lift.

I learned that I have some ankle mobility issues in my right ankle that's also affecting my right hip, and I didn't feel it until I squatted barefoot.

I'm sold on lifting barefoot. I realize in public gyms that may not be possible, and I'm sure a harder flat-soled shoe would also make a difference, but I cannot believe how much information about what my body is doing was being hidden by wearing shoes.

Just my long-winded 2 cents.

I too love the feel of the barefoot. I usually go in my socks or wear the chuck taylors. Great post sandbender.

[wapoti]

I finally remembered to ditch the shoes last time I squat and I have to say I was amazed by how natural it felt. I don't know how much of it was just a mental effect but I felt much more connected to the ground and just much better through the lift in general. I always squat to depth but I felt like I was actually able to go a bit deeper than usual without the shoes and got much better drive out of the hole than normal. I'm glad i found this thread and I'm definitely going to keep the shoes off for as long as I can get away with it.

[Pseudonym]

anyone else wearing adilettes?

You are kidding right? I haven't seen those in real life but they look like the most wildly inappropriate lifting shoes I could think of. OK, maybe if they had high heels or were actually made of sponge...

[simonsky96]

is this barefoot?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5groVHlMkRE

i mean obviously its not barefoot he doesnt have shoes ryt?

[kali]

i always wear these flat soled shoes i bought on a trip to india few years ago, they are the same i think as those kung fu shoes they sell everywhere.
a week ago i saw one of the trainers at my gym, who looks absolutely huge, doing squats. few people at my gym even do squats, and of those that do no one goes below parallel, (well, except this guy...and me, mr. huge and mr. ...well, anyway...) i couldn't help but notice him, since he was squatting 410 lbs, so i paid attention.
anyway, i did notice he was wearing shoes with serious cushioning, and they were making his feet buckle inwards. he was keeping his knees apart though, i guess since he was an experienced lifter (obviously if he could lift 410lbs!), so he knew to counteract whatever the shoes were doing, and so he would know to avoid buckling inwards. though i have to say, he was keeping his feet totally straight forward at shoulder width, so he looked more like a cross country skier, than how powerlifters do it.
but still, i thought to myself that the shoes were not helping and that it just didn't look right, at the ankles. i didn't say anything, normally guy who squats 160lbs doesn't tell a guy who squats 410lbs how its done. i mean, i felt he really needed to wear completely flat soled shoes but i wasn't going to be the one to walk up to him, thats for sure.
by the way, i noticed a few people posted how they go with socks at the gym. one option if one cant find proper shoes is to use house slippers, as gyms require footware usually.
and as for wool socks, yes, they actually work great in the heat, hikers use them all the time in hot weather as well as cold, they wick off excess moisture.

[TempestTenor]

I actually squatted barefoot for the first time yesterday night in my basement because I forgot to put my Chuck-rip-offs on and was too lazy to back upstairs. It felt great!

Obviously wearing proper squatting shoes is the best, but is there any reason to wear Chucks over going it barefoot?

[kali]

i think its the same either way, chucks or any flat soled shoes mimick the barefoot feel, its just that some gyms require shoes. or if its cold in the basement, then socks, but otherwise barefoot sounds fine to me

[Cynical]

I always Squat in socks. Shoes feel odd.

[MaritimeMass]

Box Squated 425 last week in some socks from walmart. Overall more solid base and feeling when squating.